Bachmann’s wrong kind of Elvis citing

Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann got her
Elvis Presley
dates all shook up during a campaign stop in South Carolina.

She played the Elvis tune Promised Land at a local restaurant and told the crowd of 300 she wanted to say happy birthday to the king of rock ’n’ roll.

“Before we start, let’s all say happy birthday to Elvis Presley today!" Ms Bachmann said. But August 16 is the anniversary of Elvis’s death, in 1977, and someone in the crowd shouted back: “He died today!"

Ms Bachmann didn’t respond and launched into her speech. But she didn’t miss a beat on the Elvis front. As she signed autographs, she paused for a brief dance with one of her fans.

Ms Bachmann corrected herself later as she spoke with reporters, noting the date marked Presley’s death, not his birth. He was born on January 8, 1935. “As far as we’re concerned, he’s still alive in our hearts," she said.

The congresswoman from Minnesota has stumbled over cultural references before. In June she kicked off her presidential campaign in Waterloo, Iowa, calling it the home of American actor
John Wayne
. It was actually the home for a time of serial killer John Wayne Gacy.

Meanwhile, Texas governor Rick Perry did not back down on Tuesday but he did not repeat his suggestion that the monetary policies of the Federal Reserve were potentially “treasonous" and could warrant “ugly" treatment should Fed chairman
Ben Bernanke
ever visit Texas.

“Printing more money to play politics at this particular time in American history is almost treacherous – or treasonous in my opinion," Mr Perry said on Monday, taking a voter’s question about the Fed and criticising the possibility of the Fed taking further steps between now and the election to keep interest rates low. Mr Perry said: “I don’t know what y’all would do to him in Iowa but we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas."

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His comments came at the end of an unscripted day of introducing himself to voters and highlighted his penchant for hard-edged campaigning of the sort that speaks to certain conservatives even as it raises hackles. A video of the remarks quickly circulated, prompting recriminations not just from Democrats but from some Republicans.